Tuesday

May 31, 2011 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2011 at 12:35 PM

This was as much a case of addition by subtraction as anything else. Auto Club Speedway, an International Speedway Corporation (ISC) property in Fontana, Calif., had struggled with attendance since receiving a second date in 2004. Moving one of Auto Club’s two events to another ISC track was a logical move.

ONE TO WATCH: Kevin Harvick

WHY HE MATTERS: Stole the checkered at Charlotte for series-leading third win of 2011.

WHAT HE SAYS: “Today we were lucky.”

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY: Four of his last seven wins featured a last-lap pass.

CENTERPIECE

4 questions …

About the inaugural STP 400 at Kansas Speedway

1) Why did Kansas Speedway get a second race?

This was as much a case of addition by subtraction as anything else. Auto Club Speedway, an International Speedway Corporation (ISC) property in Fontana, Calif., had struggled with attendance since receiving a second date in 2004. Moving one of Auto Club’s two events to another ISC track was a logical move. The only question was where to put it. With eight of the 12 ISC tracks already holding two events (or having had two in the past), there were only four candidates: Chicagoland, Homestead-Miami, Kansas and Watkins Glen. Of that group, Kansas was the obvious choice. The heartland, home to many of NASCAR’s most loyal fans — witness the sellout crowds for stand-alone Nationwide series races at Iowa Speedway — has long been under-represented on the Sprint Cup schedule. And then, of course, there’s ISC’s partnership with the $521 million Hollywood Casino opening next to the speedway.

2) Besides Kansas Speedway, who gains the most from the change?

Certainly the switch benefits any driver who traditionally performs better at Kansas than at California — a list that includes two-time Kansas winners Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart. It also gives regional favorites Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray an additional opportunity to perform before the home folks. Off the track, the change of venue helps every driver — not to mention every NASCAR administrator — by exposing them to one fewer round of questions about why stock car racing struggles with attendance in Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest media market.

3) Besides Auto Club Speedway, who loses the most?

Purely from a performance perspective, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth come out deepest in the red on the exchange. Each has an average finish that’s more than 10 spots lower at Kansas Speedway than at Auto Club. Kenseth, in addition, has three career wins at Auto Club but has never finished higher than fifth at Kansas; Busch, who has also won at Auto Club, has never finished higher than seventh at Kansas.

4) What’s the biggest difference between the new (June) race and the old (October) race?

The weather, certainly. The air temperature will be considerably higher for this event than for its traditional October counterpart, which will affect engine tuning and decisions regarding the amount of tape to run on the front grille. Beyond that, the more direct June sun should create considerably higher track temperatures. That could create a greasier track — and that, in turn, could benefit Tony Stewart. Stewart, who runs well at Kansas anyway, is a renowned slick-track specialist who excels in summer heat.

Along with different weather, the STP 400 will have a different atmosphere. Since NASCAR went to a “playoff” system in 2004, every race at Kansas Speedway has been part of the Chase. That means most of the attention has been on the front-runners. The non-contenders have been largely invisible, if not irrelevant. But if an underdog steals the show in the inaugural STP 400 — the way Joe Nemechek did at Kansas Speedway’s first Chase race, in 2004 — you can bet he’ll get his due.

NEXT RACE STP 400, Kansas Speedway

THE LOWDOWN It’s a brand-new race, but it has an old-school flavor. Securing the naming rights to this event is one of many sponsorship initiatives that STP, a longtime motorsports supporter, has launched after being absent from NASCAR for several years. The Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 of A.J. Allmendinger will sport a replica of the iconic blue-and-red paint scheme that Petty used in 1972, first year of the STP-Petty partnership. In addition, Petty will serve as grand marshal. Said the King, “Since ’72, I’ve been an STP man, so I’m thrilled.”

PAST WINNERS*

2010 Greg Biffle

2009 Tony Stewart

2008 Jimmie Johnson

2007 Greg Biffle

2006 Tony Stewart

*Fall race

ABOUT Kansas

TRACK: Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kans.), 1.5-mile paved oval

RACE LENGTH: 267 laps, 400.5 miles

FIRST RACE: 2001

SERIES: NASCAR Sprint Cup

Quote of note

“We needed 500 more feet.” — Crew chief Steve Letarte, after Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of fuel on the last lap in the Coca-Cola 600, allowing Kevin Harvick to steam by for the win.

Where to watch

Sunday’s pre-race show on Fox starts at 12:30 EDT, followed by the race at 1.

UP TO SPEED

Looking forward to a second date

Kansas Speedway gained a second Sprint Cup race this season at the expense of fellow International Speedway Corporation track Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. So which driver stands to benefit most from the switch? That’s easy — Greg Biffle. Besides having two career wins at Kansas, including last fall’s Price Chopper 400 — compared with one win at California, in 2005 — Biffle has an average finish at Kansas that is almost 10 full positions better than his average finish at California (see chart).

Super subs

With regular driver Trevor Bayne sidelined with an undiagnosed illness, Matt Kenseth made his first Nationwide start of 2011 last Saturday at Charlotte in the Roush Fenway No. 16. It didn’t take Kenseth long to get up to speed; by lap 13 he had the lead, and he emerged from a late duel with teammate Carl Edwards for the victory. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. then subbed for Bayne in the Coca-Cola 600 and finished an impressive 11th in his first career Sprint Cup start.

Milestone

A green-white-checkered “overtime” finish extended the Coca-Cola 600 to two laps, making the actual distance 603 miles — the longest race in NASCAR history.

WEEKLY STATS

Kansas/California average finish comparison*

RANK DRIVER KS FINISH CA FINISH CHANGE

1 Greg Biffle 8.1 17.9 +9.8

2 A.J. Allmendinger 12.0 21.7 +9.7

3 Casey Mears 15.2 23.3 +8.1

4 Brad Keselowski 18.0 24.3 +6.3

5 Joe Nemechek 23.8 29.7 +5.9

6 Dave Blaney 26.3 31.1 +4.8

7 (tie) Jeff Gordon 8.5 11.2 +2.7

7 Robby Gordon 25.8 28.5 +2.7

7 Brian Vickers 13.4 16.1 +2.7

10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19.1 21.7 +2.6

11 Paul Menard 23.0 25.3 +2.3

12 Tony Stewart 12.3 14.1 +1.8

13 Kevin Harvick 14.6 16.2 +1.6

14 Denny Hamlin 17.8 19.2 +1.4

15 Mark Martin 12.6 13.6 +1.0

16 Marcos Ambrose 28.0 28.8 +0.8

17 Ryan Newman 17.5 18.2 +0.7

18 David Gilliland 27.5 27.4 -0.1

19 Juan Pablo Montoya 20.2 19.3 -0.9

20 Clint Bowyer 11.8 10.6 -1.2

*Active, full-time drivers with at least 2 Kansas starts

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